Okay, so I'm picking my GCSE options currently. I'm picking Spanish, which is taught at my school - however I also am learning Norwegian outside of school. Except I can't find an exam board that actually caters for it. Do I just drop trying to take a GCSE in it and wait until university? Or is there a test I can take that is similar to GCSE?

(Original post by kesterstate)
Okay, so I'm picking my GCSE options currently. I'm picking Spanish, which is taught at my school - however I also am learning Norwegian outside of school. Except I can't find an exam board that actually caters for it. Do I just drop trying to take a GCSE in it and wait until university? Or is there a test I can take that is similar to GCSE?

Do you want to take Norwegian at university? Only two university in the UK offer degrees in Norwegian (UCL and Edinburgh), and both teach the language from beginners - they prefer applicants who do not have qualifications in the language.

You don't need to do a GCSE qualification in everything you do. Just enjoy learning the language and exploring it and be grateful for not having to go through the stress of an exam. Learning a language has plenty of benefits, not just getting you an extra GCSE, and if you get to university showing them that you learnt it is perfectly fine, especially if there aren't any exam boards.
I'm curious, is there a particular reason you want to learn Norweigan/do a GCSE in it?

(Original post by AcornFalls)
You don't need to do a GCSE qualification in everything you do. Just enjoy learning the language and exploring it and be grateful for not having to go through the stress of an exam. Learning a language has plenty of benefits, not just getting you an extra GCSE, and if you get to university showing them that you learnt it is perfectly fine, especially if there aren't any exam boards.
I'm curious, is there a particular reason you want to learn Norweigan/do a GCSE in it?

Thank you so much for the advice! I mean, if I don't have a qualification in something, I guess that doesn't invalidate my knowledge within the topic. I have family from Norway, so I wanted to learn it so I could converse with them and potentially study abroad there at a later date. I enjoy learning languages, and I guess the idea of learning Norwegian being brought up struck a chord with me.